Available online at www.worldscientificnews.com
( Received 15 May 2018; Accepted 29 May 2018; Date of Publication 29 May 2018 )
WSN 100 (2018) 213-232 EISSN 2392-2192
Oluwole Samuel Akintoye1 and Oluwasegun Joseph Owoyele2
Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
1,2E-mail address: [email protected] , [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Focus Construction in Yoruba language and its dialects has attracted the attention of many
Yoruba scholars. But to the best of our knowledge, none
and O paper. The data collection relies on the informants who
are native speakers of the two dialects. They are between ages 60 to 80 and they have spent almost
their life-times in the selected dialect communities. Descriptive approach is adopted for the discussion.
Findings reveal that although, the two dialects belong to different Yoruba major groups; Central
Yoruba and Southeast Yoruba, there are some similarities and differences in the syntax of the two
dialects. These similarities and differences can mostly be reflected on their focus constructions. The
concern of this paper is to consider the similarities and differences between the focus constructions in
the two dialects.
Keywords: Prominence, Dialects, Focus, Construction, Sentence, Coding
INTRODUCTION
Lots of scholars have worked on focus construction in Yoruba and other languages.
Schachter (1973) defines focus construction as a process that introduces a special marking
into the s-structure of the element that is being focused, thereby creating a focusing
prominence. Yusuf (1989) views it as a syntactic device whereby an Np in the sentence is
made prominent by coding it sentence initial. Based on the definitions above, it is discovered
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-214-
that prominence is an essential ingredient in focus construction whereby an element is being
concentrated upon above others by bringing such an element to the sentence initial position.
Many Yoruba scholars such as Awobuluyi (1978), Yusuf (1989), Ajiboye (2006), Akintoye
(2015), Awoyale (1985) that have worked on focus construction in Yoruba language and its
dialects affirm the two types of focus construction exist in Yoruba language; constituent focus
and sentence focus. Constituent focus is realized by focusing a lexical item or phrase. This is
possible by moving such a lexical constituent or phrase sentence initially which will also be
accompanied by a focus marker ni as exemplified below Warner, 1971; Oyetade, 1995;
Waterman, 1990; Orie, 2003).
1.
Olu carry child mother
y’
Focus Constructions
a.
Olu FOC RSP carry child mother
I w y’
b.
Mother FOC Olu carry child RSP
It was mummy whose child Olu carried
c.
Child mother FOC Olu carry
I w y’
d.
Carrying FOC Olu carry child mother
I w y y’
All focused items possess nominal feature as shown in the examples above. A non-
nominal item like a verb is nominalized by partial reduplication before it is focused. When
subject and genitival NPs are moved from their original positions to the initial position, the
extraction positions are filled with the presumptive pronouns. For instance, if a subject NP is
moved, its extraction position is filled with the subject resumptive pronoun or the high tone
syllable as shown in example 1(a) above. There are enough arguments on the status of the
high tone syllable among the Yoruba scholars; Awobuluyi (1992, 2006), Oladeji (2003),
Akanbi (2004), Olumuyiwa (2005), Oluseye (2005, 2009), Akintoye (2015). The current
paper will not delve into this issue. We will treat the high tone syllable as a presumptive
pronoun following Radford (1988) who explains that a sentence without a subject is incorrect.
He bases his position on Extended Projection Principle (EPP) which does not allow the
generation of a sentence without a subject. Sentence focusing is realized when a complete
sentence is given prominence by attaching a focus marker to it at the final position as
demonstrated below.
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-215-
2.
Ade beat dog Ojo
’
Focus Constructions
i.
’
b. y
Olu steal pounded yam eat
Olu stole pounded yam and ate it
i. y
Olu stole pounded yam eat FOC
The fact is that Olu stole pounded yam and ate it
The similarity between constituent focusing and sentence focusing is that prominence is
very important and, any structure that is given prominence is accompanied by a focus marker
ni. Having explained wh
Although, the two dialects belong to two different
major Yoruba dialect groups; Central Yoruba and Southeast Yoruba, findings reveal that there
are some similarities and differences in the syntax of these dialects. These similarities and
differences can be reflected on the focus constructions of these two dialects. Data collection
for this paper relies on texts and journal materials on focus construction and informants who
are native speakers of the two dialects. They are between ages 60 to 80 and they have spent
almost their life-time in the selected dialect communities. The informants are so selected
because it is assumed that their speech forms y
y
w
y
y w y y
- -dialects are mutually intelligible in
w -
y - y
all of them in a work of this nature. Another r
that focus marker takes different forms in the two selected sub- dialects. For instance, focus
marker takes li/ni ki/ kin The focus markers li/ni
and ki/ kin are allomorphs of the same morphemes in each of the selected sub-dialects; they
occur in exclusive environments (Akintoye 2015).
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-216-
y
transformation (Akintoye 2006). The focused items are moved to the initial position and the
focus markers occur immediately after the focused items as shown in the examples above.
A B
3a.
Dog eat meat Ojo ADVP
’ y
Focus Constructions
i. →
Dog FOC RSP V → V
I w ’ y
ii. →
Ojo FOC dog eat meat RSP ADVP → Ojo FOC dog eat meat RES ADVP
It was Ojo whose meat the dog ate gently
iii. →
Meat Ojo FOC dog y → Meat Ojo FOC dog eat gently
I w ’ y
iv. →
Eating FOC dog eat meat Ojo gently → Eating FOC dog eat meat Ojo gently
I w ’ y
v. →
Gently FOC dog eat meat Ojo → y
y ’ meat gently.
A B 3b.
Dog eat meat Ojo ADVP
’ y
Focus Constructions
i. →
RS V → V
I w ’ y
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-217-
ii. →
Ojo FOC dog eat meat RSP ADVP → RS V
It was Ojo whose meat the dog ate gently
iii. →
Meat Ojo FOC dog eat gently → Meat Ojo FOC dog eat gently
I w ’ y
iv. →
Eating FOC dog eat meat Ojo gently → eat meat Ojo gently
w ’ y
v. →
Gently FOC dog eat meat Ojo → y
Gently, the dog ate ’ y
A critical study of example 3(ai) shows that the subject resumptive pronoun is deleted
and its high-tone is merged with the vowel of the focus marker. y
ronoun
contracts with the focus marker ki as seen in example 3 (bi.). When a genitival NP is moved
to the initial position, its extraction position is filled with the genitival resumptive pronoun
as shown in examples 3 (aii and bii.). The similarity between the constituent focus in the two
dialects is that both dialects permit the contraction between the focus markers and the
adjacent items as manifested in the examples under group (B) above.
Sentences focusing
y
whole sentence prominence. This is accomplished by attaching the focus markers ni and kin to
the focused sentence at the final position. Besides, the focus markers ni and kin also reflect in
the responses of the content questions that require NPs answer as demonstrated below.
Ado dialect
Simple Sentences
4a.
Ade carry food
Ade carries food
Focus Constructions
i.
Ade carry food FOC
The fact is that Ade carries food
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-218-
b.
Goat PERF die
The goat has died
Focus Constructions
i.
Goat PERF die FOC
The fact is that the goat has died.
c.
Sola carry child
Sola carried a child
Focus Constructions
i.
Sola carry child FOC
The fact is that Sola carried a child
Content Questions Answers
5a.
Olu see Ojo
Olu saw Ojo
Content Questions
i.
Olu see CQW
Olu saw who? It was Ojo
ii.
CQW Olu see Ojo FOC
Who did Olu see? It was Ojo
b.
Akin pay penny two
Akin paid two pounds
Content Questions
i.
Akin pay CQW Penny two FOC
Akin paid how much? It was two pounds
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-219-
ii.
CQP Akin pay Penny two FOC
How much did Akin pay? It was two pounds
Simple Sentences
6a.
Ade carry food
Ade carries food
Focus Construction
i.
Ade carry food FOC
The fact is that Ade carries food
b.
Goat PERF die
The goat has died
Focus Construction
i.
Goat PERF die FOC
The fact is that the goat has died.
c.
Sola carry child
Sola carried a child
Focus Construction
i.
Sola carry child FOC
The fact is that Sola carried a child
Content Questions Answers
7a.
Olu see Ojo
Olu saw Ojo
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-220-
Content Questions
i. kin?
Olu see CQW FOC
Olu saw who? It was Ojo
ii.
CQW FOC Olu see Ojo FOC
Who did Olu see? It was Ojo
b.
Akin pay penny two
Akin paid two pounds
Content Questions
i.
Akin pay CQW Penny two FOC
Akin paid how much? It was two pounds
iii.
CQP FOC Akin pay Penny two FOC
How much did Akin pay? It was two pounds
Our observation in the examples (6) above is that sentence focus markers have nasal
feature. w that
focus marker kin only occurs in the sentence final position. When an item is moved to an
initial position, it will only be accompanied by the focus marker ki.
dialect does not permit the focus marker kin to occur in the medial position, even when the
movement occurs in interrogative construction. w
marker in content questions as reflected in examples 7(a, aii, b ii). Unlike constituent focus
which is generated by movement transformation, sentence focusing is generated by
adjunction. The reason is that the focus markers are attached to a whole sentence at the final
position as earlier noted.
y
S -
I - - y -
-dialect is selected for this paper. It is believed that
this dialect will be a good representative of the other two sub-dialects.
y
the standard dialect and Ekiti dialect. The focus marker takes two forms; and
dialect, and both occur at the sentence final position as demonstrated below.
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-221-
8. iye
Olu HTS carry child mother
’
Focus Constructions
a. y
Olu RSP carry child mother FOC
I w ’
b. Iy
Mother Olu HTS carry child RSP FOC
It was mother whose child Olu carried
c. y
Child mother Olu HTS carry FOC
I w ’
d. y
Carrying Olu HTS carry child mother FOC
w ’
9.
Aina HTS fry meat
Aina fried meat
Focus Constructions
a.
S y
It was Aina that fried meat
b.
Meat Aina HTS fry FOC
It was meat that Aina fried
c.
Frying Aina HTS fry meat FOC
The fact was that Aina fried meat
Examples (8 and 9) above show that the focus marker and are allomorphs; they
occur in complementary environments. For instance, the focus marker co-occurs with oral
vowels as indicated in examples (8) above while co-occurs with nasal vowels as
demonstrated in examples (9). Research shows that the focus marker y
y
ni in Yoruba language and i n
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-222-
There is evidence in Yoruba language that ni changes to li when it co-occurs
with oral vowels. One can also say that changes to i by assimilating the oral feature of the
vowels adjacent to it as reflected in examples (8).
y w y
be subject, object and genitival NP,
w w
extraction positions are filled with resumptive pronouns; high tone syllable and
respectively as shown in examples (8a, b and 9a).
A close look at examples (8 and 9) shows that the high tone syllable is present in all of
them. There is a difference between in examples (8a, 9a) and other examples. While in
examples (8b, c, d, 9b, c) functions as a preverb (PRV) because it appears in between the
subjects and the verbs Awobuluyi (1993, 2003), in examples (8a, 9a) functions as a subject
resumptive pronoun. The reason is because when a subject NP is moved the extraction cite
will be filled with a subject resumptive pronoun Oluseye (2009) and Oladeji (2003).
Akintoye (2015) as earlier noted is of the opinion that in examples (8a, 9a) is
generated by merger; a fusion of the preverb and the resumptive . According to him,
Yoruba language does not permit generating a sentence with a subject. When a subject NP is
moved, the extraction position is filled with the subject resumptive pronoun as earlier noted. It
is assumed that both as a preverb (PRV) and as a subject resumptive pronoun are in their
right positions. But both of them are merged because they have the same form as
demonstrated below.
10. y
Olu PRV carry child mother 1sg
’
Focus Construction
a. y → y
RS R V y → RS y
It was Olu that carried y ’
11.
Aina PRV fry meat
Aina fried meat
b. →
RS RV y → RS y
It was Aina that fried meat
Sentence focusing involves giving prominence to a whole sentence by attaching the
focus marker at the sentence final position as exemplified below.
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-223-
Eye Prog push 2sg
You are shy
Focus Construction
i.
Eye Prog push 2sg FOC
The fact is that you are shy
b. w
Olu ADVP come
Olu came quickly
Focus Construction
ii. w
Olu ADVP come FOC
The fact is that Olu came quickly.
y unction.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
w
y w dialects reveals that
constituent focus in the two dialects undergoes movement transformation as shown in
examples (3a, b, 8, 9 ) repeated as examples (13, 14 and 15) below.
13a.
Dog eat meat Ojo ADVP
The ’ y
Focus Construction
i.
Dog FOC RSP eat meat Ojo ADVP
I w ’ y
ii.
Ojo FOC dog eat meat RSP ADVP
It was Ojo whose meat the dog ate gently
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-224-
iii.
Meat Ojo FOC dog eat gently
I w ’ y
iv.
Eating FOC dog eat meat Ojo gently
w ’ y
v.
Gently FOC dog eat meat Ojo
y ’
13b.
Dog eat meat Ojo ADVP
’ y
Focus Construction
i.
Dog FOC RSP eat meat Ojo ADVP
I w ’ y
ii.
Ojo FOC dog eat meat ADVP
It was Ojo whose meat the dog ate gently
iii.
Meat Ojo FOC dog eat gently
I w ’ y
14. y
Olu HTS carry child mother
’
Focus Constructions
a. iye
Olu RSP carry child mother FOC
I w ’
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-225-
e. Iy
Mother Olu HTS carry child RSP FOC
It was mother whose child Olu carried
f. y
Child mother Olu HTS carry FOC
I w ’
g. y
Carrying Olu HTS carry child mother FOC
w y ’
15.
Aina HTS fry meat
Aina fried meat
Focus Constructions
a.
S y
It was Aina that fried meat
b.
Meat Aina HTS fry FOC
It was meat that Aina fried
c.
Frying Aina HTS fry meat FOC
It was frying that Aina fried meat
w
ni/li -dialect and ki/kin
sub-dialect with mid tone, while they take / w S
w y
- y ni and kin
dialect employs . These focus markers occupy the sentence final position by adjunction as
demonstrated in examples (4, 9a, b) repeated as examples (16, 17 18a, b)
Ado dialect
16a.
Ade carry food
Ade carries food
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-226-
Focus Construction
i.
Ade carry food FOC
The fact is that Ade carries food
b. ti ku
Goat PERF die
The goat has died
Focus Construction
i.
Goat PERF die FOC
The fact is that the goat has died.
17a.
Ade carry food
Ade carries food
Focus Construction
i.
Ade carry food FOC
The fact is that Ade carries food
b.
Goat PERF die
The goat has died
Focus Construction
i.
Goat PERF die FOC
The fact is that the goat has died.
c. S
Sola carry child
Sola carried a child
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-227-
Focus Construction
i.
Sola carry child FOC
The fact is that Sola carried a child
18a.
Eye Prog push 2sg
You are shy
Focus Construction
i.
Eye Prog push 2sg FOC
The fact is that you are shy
b. w
Olu ADVP come
Olu came quickly
Focus Construction
i. w
Olu ADVP come FOC
The fact is that Olu came quickly.
Some differences are noted in w
y w y
w y & Olumuyiwa (2009) was of the opinion that
focus markers and occur undelyingly in the sentence initial position but gets moved to the
final position at the surface level, a critical scrutiny of Yoruba language and some other
dialects of Yoruba indicates that medial position may be assumed to be the underlying
position of the focus makers in the standard dialect and its dialect as shown below.
19.
a.
Olu build house
Olu built a house
Focus Construction i.
House FOC Olu build
It was a house that Olu built
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-228-
bi. ko
Ojo take money give child
Ojo gave the child money
ii.
Child FOC Ojo take money give
It was a child that Ojo gave the money
20.
ai.
Olu build house
Olu built a house
Focus Construction
ii. I
House FOC Olu build
It was a house that Olu build
bi. w
Ojo take money give child
Ojo gave the child money
ii. w
Child FOC Ojo take money give
It was a child that Ojo gave the money
21.
ai.
Olu build house
Olu built a house
Focus Construction
ii. I
House FOC Olu build
It was a house that Olu build
bi. w
Ojo take money give child
Ojo gave the child money
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-229-
ii. w
Child FOC Ojo take money give
It was a child that Ojo gave the money
dialect through movement transformation. It is worth noting to explain that rightward
movement is not new in Yoruba language as demonstrated below.
22ai. I
Work Rel 2sg like do 1sg do remain
The work you want to assist me to do remains
ii. I
Work remain Rel 2sg like do 1sg do
It remains the work you want to assist me to do
bi. I w
House Rel 2pl PREV sleep available
The house where you will sleep is available
ii. I w
House available Rel 2pl PREV sleep
There is house where you will sleep
ci.
Time Rel 1pl PREV talk Prog come
The time that we shall discuss is coming
ii.
Time Prog come Rel 1pl PREV talk
The time is coming when we shall discuss
In examples (22) above, the underlined relative clauses are rightward moved from their
original positions as shown in examples 12(ai, bi, ci) to the final position as reflected
inexamples 12(aii, bii, cii).
The subject resumptive pronoun always gets d
w w w
w
below.
23a A
Dog eat meat Ojo ADVP
’ y
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-230-
Focus Construction
i.
Dog FOC RSP eat meat Ojo ADVP
I w ’ y
ii.
Dog FOC eat meat Ojo ADVP
I w ’ y
b
Sola beat Idowu
Focus Construction
i.
Sola FOC RSP beat Idowu
It was Sola that beat Idowu
ii.
Sola FOC beat Idowu
It was Sola that beat Idowu
Dog HTS eat meat Ojo ADVP
’ y
Focus Construction
i.
Dog RSP eat meat Ojo ADVP FOC
I w ’ y
b. w
S w
Sola beat Idowu
Focus Construction
i. w
Sola RSP beat Idowu FOC
It was Sola that beat Idowu
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-231-
CONCLUSION
y
Although the two dialects belong to two different major Yoruba dialect groups, research
shows that the constituent focus in the two dialects is generated by movement transformation,
while the sentence focus is generated by adjunction. The two dialects also employ focus
markers with nasal feature to mark a sentence focus at the final position. Focus construction
in the two dialects is different in the sense that the f w
y
- y w
dialect bear high-tone and
y
w
References
[1] y -Sy The Journal of West African
Languages 2(XXX111) (2006) 23-42.
[2] T. A. Akanbi, The Third Person Singular Pronoun Subject: A Critique. In OBITUN
Journal of Humanities, University of Ado-Ekiti, (2004) 22-42.
[3] F. Akinkugbe, An Internal Classification of the Yorubaland Group (Yoruba,
. Journal of West African Languages 1(XI) (1976) 1-12.
[4] O. S. Akintoye, Focus Markers in Ekiti Dialect. Ado Journal of Languages and
Linguistics, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Vol. 1 (2006) 35-43.
[5] O. S. Akintoye, A Comparative Analysis of Relative Clause and Focus
y S ersity,
Ado- Ekiti, Nigeria. (2015).
[6] O. Awobuluyi, Essentials of Yoruba Grammar. Ibadan: Oxford University Press
Nigeria (1978) 76-80.
[7] O. Awobuluyi, Aspects of Contemporary Standard Yoruba Dialectological Perspective.
In Akinwumi Isola (ed). New Findings in Yoruba Studies. J. F. Odunjo Memorial
Lecture, No. 2, Ibadan: Johnm of Printer, (1992) 5-11.
[8] w y w - – Pastoral
institute, Bodija, Ibadan (1998) 10-15.
[9] w y ’ – Journal of West African
Language, XVII. No. 2 (2006) 48-60.
[10] Y. Awoyale, Focus as an Unbound Movement Rule in Yoruba. Journal of the Linguistic
Association of Nigeria, No. 5 (1985) 1-12.
[11] E. M. Fresco, Topics in Yoruba Dialect Phonology. Studies in African Linguistics,
Suppl. 1 (1970). 17-136. Los Angeles: University of California.
World Scientific News 100 (2018) 213-232
-232-
[12] w y - - w - w
10 (2003) 63-75.
[13] T. Olumuyiwa, -
Adekunle Ajasin University Doctoral Dissertation. (2006).
[14] A. Oluseye, Non-agreeing Subject Resumptive Pronoun in Yoruba. Studies in Natural
Language and Linguistic Theory, Vol. 78 (2009) 65-89.
[15] O. O. Oyelaran, Linguistic Speculations on Yoruba History. Department of African
Languages and Literature, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (1976) 624-646.
[16] A. Radford, Transformational grammar. Cambridge: University Press. (1988) 1-144.
[17] P. Schachters, Focus and Relativization. Language 49 (1973) 19-46.
[18] O. Yusuf, The Derivation of the Focus Construction in Yoruba: A Problem for the
Trace Theory. JOLAN, No. 5 (1989) 56-68.
[19] y w Sy . Nordic
Journal of African Studies 18(2): 129–137 (2009)
[20] Christopher A. Waterman. "Our Tradition Is a Very Modern Tradition": Popular Music
and the Construction of Pan-Yoruba Identity. Ethnomusicology Vol. 34, No. 3 (Autumn,
1990), pp. 367-379
[21] Solomon Oluw le Oyetade. A Sociolinguistic analysis of address forms in Yoruba.
Language in Society Volume 24, Issue 4 September 1995 , pp. 515-535,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S004740450001900X
[22] Maureen Warner. Trinidad Yoruba—Notes on Survivals. Caribbean Quarterly Volume
17, 1971, Issue 2, Pages 40-49, https://doi.org/10.1080/00086495.1971.11829073
[23] Olanike Ola Orie. Two harmony theories and high vowel patterns in Ebira and Yoruba.
The Linguistic Review 20 (2003), 1–35.